“Good Samaritan” killed in wrong-way crash on I-25 identified | Traffic

The El Paso County Coroner's Office has identified the “good Samaritan” who was struck and killed while trying to help two drivers in an early morning wrong-way crash on Interstate 25 Sunday .

According to coroner's office spokesperson Sandy Wilson, the victim was identified as 64-year-old Joel Montalvo.

Previous Gazette reports indicated a vehicle was heading south in the northbound lanes of the highway near the Martin Luther King Jr. Bypass when it collided with another car.

Police said Montalvo was struck as he got out of his vehicle to help the drivers of the two cars that initially crashed head-on.

“As they attempted to cross the street, they (Montalvo) were struck by another northbound vehicle,” a CSPD lieutenant said.

According to authorities, Montalvo and one of the drivers were pronounced dead at the scene. The wrong-way driver was transported to a nearby hospital after the crash, but died from his injuries.

“The investigation into the cause of the accident continues and will rely in part on laboratory results from the coroner’s office,” department spokesman Ira Cronin said Tuesday morning.

The two drivers in the head-on collision have not yet been identified by the coroner's office, according to authorities.